Let’s face it – keeping dependencies up to date is nobody’s favorite task, but it’s essential for security, performance, and accessing new features. Luckily, both Maven and Gradle offer tools to make this chore a little less painful. Let’s look at some approaches for (semi)automating dependency updates in Java projects.
The Maven Versions Plugin
Maven has some neat tricks up its sleeve when it comes to dependency management.
This plugin is your best friend for dependency updates:
# See what's outdated mvn versions:display-dependency-updates # Update everything to latest releases mvn versions:use-latest-releases # Play it safe (no major version jumps) mvn versions:use-latest-releases -DallowMajorUpdates=false
Handling Property-Based Versions
If you’re using properties for version management (you probably should be!), you’ll need:
# Update those ${awesome.version} properties
mvn versions:update-properties
Tip: You can chain these commands together:
mvn versions:use-latest-releases versions:update-properties
Maven in Your IDE
Most Java IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, etc.) have built-in dependency checking that will highlight outdated versions directly in your POM files. Look for little notification bubbles or highlights next to version numbers. This is however, mostly manual work but you can do all the checking inside the IDE at least.
Gradle: Flexible Updates for the Win
Gradle doesn’t have built-in update commands like Maven, but the ecosystem has you covered.
The Gradle Versions Plugin
This popular plugin by Ben Manes is the go-to solution (mind the version here, perhaps there is a newer one):
// Add to your build.gradle
plugins {
id "com.github.ben-manes.versions" version "0.46.0"
}
Then just run:
./gradlew dependencyUpdates
This generates a nice report of what’s outdated. Want to automatically apply those updates? Check out the gradle-use-latest-versions plugin that works with Ben’s plugin.
Android Studio Superpowers
If you’re building Android apps, good news! Android Studio has special treatment for Gradle dependencies:
- Highlighted version numbers when updates are available
- Quick-fix actions to bump versions
- Dependency insights in the build analyzer
Automation-Friendly Approaches
Want to level up? Consider these options:
Scheduled CI Jobs
Set up a weekly CI job that:
- Runs the update command
- Creates a new branch
- Runs tests
- Opens a PR if everything passes
Renovate or Dependabot
These tools integrate with GitHub (or GitLab, Bitbucket) and automatically create PRs when dependencies have updates. They can be configured to:
- Group related updates
- Auto-merge non-breaking changes
- Schedule updates at convenient times
Finding the Right Balance
Remember that blindly updating everything isn’t always the best approach. Consider:
- Using semantic versioning flags (-DallowMajorUpdates=false -DallowSnapshots=false -DallowIncrementalUpdates=true -DallowDowngrade=false )
- Excluding certain problematic dependencies
- Reading release notes for major changes
- Having good test coverage to catch compatibility issues
The goal isn’t necessarily having the absolute latest version of everything, but rather maintaining a healthy, secure, and relatively modern dependency tree.